Re: Martin/Zimmerman - why was / is there an effort to paint a picture that wasn't / isn't real?

[AZ Progressive]

116. Hispanics were considered white from time to time by the U.S. Census

From Wikipedia's article on Mexican Americans:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_American

As the United States' borders expanded, the United States Census Bureau changed its racial classification methods for Mexican Americans under United States jurisdiction. The Bureau's classification system has evolved significantly from its inception:

From 1790 to 1850, there was no distinct racial classification of Mexican Americans in the US census. The only racial categories recognized by the Census Bureau were White and Black. The Census Bureau estimates that during this period the number of persons that could not be categorized as white or black did not exceed 0.25% of the total population based on 1860 census data.[22]

From 1850 through 1920 the Census Bureau expanded its racial categories to include all different races including Mestizos, Mulattos, Amerindians and Asians, and classified Mexicans and Mexican Americans as "White"[22] All Mexicans were legally (though not normally socially, ecomically or politically) considered "White" either because they were considered to be of full Spanish heritage, or because of treaty obligations to Spaniards and Mexicans that conferred citizenship status at a time when whiteness was a prerequisite for US citizenship.[citation needed]

The 1930 US census revoked generic white status for Mexican Americans due to protest over a diluted definition of "whiteness". The new form asked for "color or race" and census workers were instructed to "write ‘W’ for White; ’Mex’ for Mexican."[23]

In the 1940 census, Mexican Americans were re-classified as White, due to widespread protests by the Mexican American community. Instructions for enumerators were "Mexicans – Report 'White' (W) for Mexicans unless they are definitely of indigenous or other non-white race." During the same census, however, the bureau began to track the White population of Spanish mother tongue. This practice continued through the 1960 census.[22] The 1960 census also used the title "Spanish-surnamed American" in their reporting data of Mexican Americans, which included Cuban Americans, Puerto Ricans and others under the same category.

From 1970 to 1980, there was a dramatic population increase of Other Race in the census, reflecting the addition of a question on Hispanic origin to the 100-percent questionnaire, an increased propensity for Hispanics to not identify themselves as White, and a change in editing procedures to accept reports of "Other race" for respondents who wrote in Hispanic entries such as Mexican, Cuban, or Puerto Rican. In 1970, such responses in the Other race category were reclassified and tabulated as White. During this census, the bureau attempted to identify all Hispanics by use of the following criteria in sampled sets:[22]
Spanish speakers and persons belonging to a household where the head of household was a Spanish speaker
Persons with Spanish heritage by birth location or surname
Persons who self-identified Spanish origin or descent

From 1980 on, the Census Bureau has collected data on Hispanic origin on a 100-percent basis. The bureau has noted an increasing number of respondents who mark themselves as Hispanic origin but not of the White race.[22]

For certain purposes, respondents who wrote in "Chicano" or "Mexican" (or indeed, almost all Hispanic origin groups) in the "Some other race" category were automatically re-classified into the "White race" group.[24]